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BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Office of English Language Learners

Frances Esparza, Ed.D. Assistant Superintendent

Presentation to School Committee

June 8, 2016

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Our vision is to provide a culturally and linguistically responsive

education with the supports needed to ensure equitable access

to opportunities that promote language acquisition,

bilingualism, biliteracy and lifelong learning.

Office of English Language Learners Vision

Photo courtesy of Hennigan K-8

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The Cultural & Linguistic Diversity of Boston Public Schools

Top 10 Countries of Origin of BPS Students Top 10 First Languages Spoken by BPS

Students

Source: Aspen SIS, as of 5/23/2016. Includes students enrolled in Horace Mann Charter Schools; does not

include 473 students in out-of-district Special Education placements. Chinese includes speakers of Cantonese,

Mandarin, and Toishanese. United States includes Puerto Rico and U.S. territories.

3.4%

2.4%

3.8%

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Forecast of ELs in BPS

If current trends continue, the foreign-born

population of the City of Boston will

continue to increase:

● More than 1 in 4 (27.7%) of Boston’s

residents are foreign-born.

● Boston's foreign-born population

increased by 18% from 2000

(151,836) to 2013 (178,805), and this

growth accounts for much of Boston’s

overall population growth.

● Boston’s proportion of foreign-born

residents ranks highly compared to

other major U.S. cities (comparable to

Houston and San Diego).

● In 2013, 36% of Boston's residents

speak a language other than

English at home (13% in 1980).

Source: Data and map from Boston Redevelopment Authority, http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/f6692a39-c76d-480f-aedc-58fff95cdda0

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/f6692a39-c76d-480f-aedc-58fff95cdda0










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Office of English Language Learners Priorities

EL

Instruction & Curriculum

Professional

Learning

Supplemental

Services

EL Parent

Engagement

Equity &

Accountabilit

y

Newcomers

Assessment

Translations &

Interpretation

Support to

schools to

ensure their

ELLs meet the

school's

identified goal

and

instructional

focus as well

as Common

Core State

Standards

(CCSS) and

World Class

Instructional

Design &

Assessment

(WIDA)

English

Language

Development

standards.

Professional

learning to build

the capacity of

teachers,

Language

Acquisition

Team

Facilitators,

school leaders

and central

office staff.

Provide before-

after- Saturday

and summer

supplemental

programs for

Title III EL

students,

including

compensatory

students,

SLIFE,

ELLSWD, and

other EL

students in

need of

additional

language

acquisition and

academic

support.

Engage EL

parents and

community

members as

partners to

promote the

success and

achievement of

their children

through the

creation of a

Districtwide EL

Advisory

Committee.

and other

vehicles.

Support schools

to ensure ELs

receive their

requisite

services, aligned

with District

procedures and

processes, to

meet state,

local, and

federal

regulations and

legal

requirements.

Newcomers

Assessment &

Counseling

Center

provides

English

language

proficiency

assessment to

all newcomer

students who

may

potentially

need EL

services.

Native

language

assessment

are also

administered

to students

meeting the

testing

criteria.

Ensure that

communications

are translated

and interpreted

in order to

ensure all

parents have

meaningful

access to their

student’s

education.

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Brochures for EL Programs and Resources

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Initial Assessment and Counseling Process

•Interview families and collect information

about students’ academic background

• Assess K-12 in English and determine

initial ELD Level

• Administer native language assessment

to grades 3-12 who are 9 years old or older

and are new to the United States education

system

• Use test results to counsel families and

recommend program placements and

services

• Inform Enrollment Planning and Support

(EPS) of program recommendations

Total Students Assessed

July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016

3,969

Total Parents and Students

Visited NACC

July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016

7,938

Total Students Identified ELL

July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016

3,227

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Support for EL Programs and Placement ● Increased program opportunities for ELs:

○ SEI K1 Chinese program at the Quincy

○ Expanding Spanish Dual Language grades at the Umana (K1) and S.

Greenwood (Grade 4)

○ Opening of SLIFE program at the Edison to meet the needs of a growing

diverse population in that community

● Dedicated a position within OELL to monitor program implementation quality

at schools. This position collaborates with the Office of Enrollment, Budget,

Engagement and Human Capital to review EL program placement and

staffing.

○ Attending daily standing enrollment meetings

○ Participating in weekly Enrollment Action Team meetings

Total Strands of EL Programmings offered across BPS

schools

SLIFE Dual Language SEI Language

Specific

SEI

Multilingual

17 5 42 24

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EL Services as Reported to External Partners We are pleased to report that our ability to demonstrate compliance to the US Department

of Justice and US Department of Education has increased in all areas of ESL, as well as

SEI instruction from qualified teachers, to reflect the following:

Table 1: District Overview of ESL Compliance: March 2016*

Elementary Secondary Total

Total LEPs 7,375 6,046 13,421

LEPs whose ESL Courses are All the Approved Type:

# 6,912 5,090 12,002

% 94% 84% 89%

LEPs whose Teachers of ESL are All ESL Certified

# 7,063 5,476 12,539

% 96% 91% 93%

LEPs who are Receiving the Appropriate Amount of ESL

# 7,001 5,484 12,485

% 95% 91% 93%

LEPs who are Correctly Grouped for All ESL Courses

# 6,556 3,973 10,529

%

89% 66% 78%

When you start to link

the various

components of ESL

together, we have

increased services

to 69% of students

receiving full ESL

services, compared

to 29% of students

in April 2015.

*As in the previous cover letters submitted for SY15-16, this analysis excludes the schools reported

separately. Totals also exclude students who are approved opt-outs (n=6).

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Increased Compliance Levels

In an effort to increase

compliance and

transparency:

● Consistent conference

calls are held

● Extemporaneous

request for information

is promptly provided

● Support for schools

receiving monitoring

visits

OELL has submitted 55

reports to US DOJ/OCR so

far this school year.

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Rigorous EL Instruction & Curriculum

● Curriculum & Standards: Incorporating direct

English language development instruction with

standards-aligned thematic units.

● Instructional Approach: Expanding our 3L’s

(Learning, Language, and Literacy for ELs)

instructional pedagogy to ensure that all ELs can

access and fully engage with more rigorous

grade- level content.

● Course Selection: Cross-functional collaboration to

support alignment of EL course selection to

MassCore and BPS graduation requirements;

establish dual enrollment partnerships with area

colleges.

● Professional Learning: A wide array of

professional learning opportunities.

● Culturally & Linguistically Responsive: Affirming

and supporting ELL students’ cultural & linguistic

assets is at the core of this work.

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Supports for ELSWD

No ELL shall be denied ELL services solely due to the

nature or severity of the student’s disability, and no

ELL shall be denied SPED services due to his or her

ELL status.

● Collaboration with the ELSWD

ELL Task Force Subcommittee

● Training provided for COSESS

and LAT-Fs on the intersection

between EL and SPED services.

● Joint meetings between EL and

SPED school staff in best

practices for serving ELSWD

● ELSWD Data Checklist

completed for each ELSWD

takes into account language

considerations

● In the IEP, there is an additional

language box that requires an

explanation on the type of

specialized EL instruction the

student receives

Next Steps:

● Work with DESE to create an

alternative set of criteria in order to

reclassify an ELSWD with significant

cognitive disabilities in order to exit

from EL services

● Explore Sheltered English Immersion

classrooms that are fully inclusive

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Deepening Student & Parent Engagement

● Revitalizing EL Student Advisory Council

● Immigrant Youth Fair

● District English Language Learners Advisory

Committee Meetings (6 per yr)

● Expanding DELLAC Conferences

● DELLAC Parent Leadership Training

● Implementing school based parent EL

Advisory Committees as part of School

Parent Council

● OELL Technology Goes Home

● BPS Newcomer Back-to-School Kick-Off

Convention

● Cultural Proficiency Trainings at Schools

● Family and School Learning Communities

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Expanding Translation & Interpretation Where Have We Been?

● Translations of

District-Wide

Documents

● Translation of

documents for

English learners

with disabilities

Where Are We Now?

● Launching the Translation and

Interpretation Unit

● Hired Director and leveraged

existing Staff

● Robocalls in the major

languages

● Piloting contracts with outside

vendors for language services

Where Are We Going?

● Remote video

interpretations pilot at the

start of next school year

● Hiring additional

translations technicians

● Implementing online

platform to receive

translation and

interpretation requests for

servicing all stakeholders

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Expanding Dual Language Programs

Where Are We Now?

● Developing 3-Year Strategic Plan to Support

Current and Future Dual Language Program

Schools

● Providing Spanish Language Readers and

Classroom Library Books

● Community-Based and International

Partnerships

● Principal and teacher visits to BPS and out-of-

state dual language programs

● Parent meetings to explain the Benefits of

Biliteracy

Where Have We Been?

● Dual Language Programs in 5 BPS schools:

○ Hernandez K1-8 (since 1986)

○ Hurley K1-8 (since 1997)

○ Sarah Greenwood K1-3 (since 2011)

○ Muniz 9-12 (since 2012)

○ Maria Umana Academy K2-1

(since 2014)

● Dual Language Institute for Teachers

Where Are We Going?

● Opening Haitian Creole/French, Cape Verdean

Creole/Portuguese, Mandarin, Vietnamese,

Italian and Spanish Immersion Programs

● Seal of Biliteracy Implementation in all Dual

Language Program Schools and High Schools

● Dual Language Licensure Opportunities for

Teachers

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Supporting Schools with Cultural Competency

● Provided cultural competency training by Reverend Tan, member of

the ELL Task Force, that focused on strategies to successfully reach

and teach culturally diverse students

● Cultural competency is also integrated in each of OELL’s trainings for

teachers/administrators, particularly a key component of the 18 hour

blended WIDA Training and in our Professional Learning Communities

● A cultural competency workshop was provided for close to 100

teachers and staff at the Jackson Mann, focusing on Arabic culture

and Muslim religious practices, one of the growing student populations

served at the school

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2014/01/29/the-business-benefits-of-learning-a-

foreign-language

A US News & World Report article quoted a language expert who stated

those entering the workforce in 2014 with second language fluency can

expect an additional 10-15% pay increase.

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Spring 2015 PARCC & MCAS ELA Achievement by EL

Status

DRAFT data courtesy of BPS Office of Data & Accountability. Source: 2015 PARCC Report Boston Public School District_00350000.xlsx file downloaded from DESE on 11/12/2015. Student Information files from SIS BPS downloaded in March-May 2015. Data excludes in-district Horace Mann Charter Schools. EL/LEP status reflects student’s status at the time of assessment.

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Our BPS Valedictorians

Retrieved from

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/articl

e/2015/08/25/power-lunch-tommy-chang-

boston-public-schools/.

★ 18 out of 37 (49%) BPS 2016

Valedictorians are Immigrants.

★ 16 out of 37 (43%) BPS 2016

Valedictorians are ELs or Former

ELs.

List of valedictorians as provided by BPS principals; includes in-district Horace

Mann charter high schools and alternative high schools. LEP status as of June 1,

2016 Aspen SIS. Immigrant defined as student’s country of birth being outside

the US, also as of June 1, 2016 Aspen SIS.

“We need to have a deep

respect for students’ identity

and language. We also need to

ensure that students receive

explicit instruction on

academic English.”

–Superintendent Chang